I am a senior editor at Forbes and focus mainly on the business of sports and our annual franchise valuations. I also spend a lot of my time digging into what athletes earn on and off the field of play. I've profiled a bunch of athletes that go by one name: LeBron, Shaq, Danica and others. I also head up our biennial B-School rankings, our list of America's Best Small Companies and our annual features on the Best Places for Business (metros, states and countries). I joined Forbes in 1998 after working 3 years at Financial World magazine.

The World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2014: Behind The Numbers

The 100 highest-paid athletes in the world earned a collective $2.75 billion over the last 12 months, up 5% versus one year ago. The rise is a result of rising salaries for elite players as exploding TV rights fees fuel higher revenues across sports around the world. Salary and prize money for the top 100 rose 9%, while total endorsement income was down 5% to $741 million with some companies re-evaluating the athlete-sponsor relationship in recent years after high-profile blowups with iconic athletes like Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong. The entry point for the top 100 was $17.3 million compared to $16.4 million last year.

The 100 highest-paid athletes play 10 different sports led by baseball with 27 players, although Philadelphia Phillies’ pitcher Cliff Lee is the only one to crack the top 30 (he ranks No. 30 at $25.3 million). Basketball (18), football (17) and soccer (15) make up half the list combined. Cricket and track and field both placed a lone athlete on the list with cricket-legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni at No. 22 and the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, ranked No. 45. There are no hockey players for a third straight year. Sidney Crosby came closest at $16.5 million.

Athletes from 27 countries made the final cut. Americans dominate the rankings with 60 qualifying (63 made it last year), although the top 10 is split evenly between Americans and international athletes. Spain and the Dominican Republic each landed four athletes within the top 100. The Spaniards are led by tennis ace Rafael Nadal, who ranks ninth with earnings of $44.5 million. Seattle Mariners’ second baseman, Robinson Cano, leads a quartet of Dominican baseball players at No. 60 with earnings of $21.5 million (Cano’s rank will jump next year when his new $240 million deal kicks in for our purposes).

Our earnings figures include all salaries and bonuses paid out between June 1, 2013 and June 1, 2014. So in the case of baseball players, the listed salary will include salary from the 2012 and 2013 seasons, as well as any signing, award or playoff bonuses. Winnings for golfers and tennis players represents their prize money over that period. Nascar drivers receive a percentage of their winnings (it is split with the team), as well as a salary.

Endorsement incomes are an estimate of sponsorship deals, appearance fees and licensing fees for the 12 months through June based on conversations with dozens of industry insiders. The golfers’ income includes course design work. We do not deduct for taxes or agents’ fees and we do not include investment income. We do include income from the sale of a business related to a sponsorship in the case of someone like LeBron James, who made millions via the $3 billion sale of Beats by Dre to AppleApple.

Reigning British Open champion Phil Mickelson is the oldest member of our list. He turns 44 next week and beats out Nascar’s Jeff Gordon, who will be 43 this summer. On the other end of the age scale, Brazilian wunderkind Neymar is only 22 and ranks No. 16 at $33.6 million (see “Highest-Paid Athletes: 25 And Younger”). He is a year and one-half younger than boxer Canelo Alvarez. The average age is 32 years old for the second straight year.

Nike is Jordan’s bread-and-butter sponsorship and is heavily represented among the world’s best paid. Nike, including its Jordan Brand, has deals with at least 48 athletes in the top 100 (Forbes couldn’t confirm endorsement partners for six athletes). The deals range from a $10,000 baseball glove deal to $20 million a year athletes like LeBron James and Tiger Woods, who are the faces behind massive product launches. Adidas and its subsidiary, Reebok, have 14 athletes under contract by our count. PepsiCoPepsiCo is also a huge player in sports. Its brands, including Gatorade, have deals with at least 20 of the 100 highest-paid. Samsung ElectronicsSamsung Electronics has eight players under contract, largely in soccer.

The breakdown between salary/winnings and endorsement income runs the gamut. Mayweather does not have any personal endorsements, although he attracts sponsors to promote his fights, which puts more money in his pocket by boosting pay-per-view sales. Mayweather earns 100% of his income for what he does in the ring. Bolt generates 99% of his income from sponsors and appearance fees.

There are 29 newcomers in the top 100 led by tenth ranked Matt Ryan. The Atlanta Falcons QB signed Ryan to a five-year, $104 million deal last summer that included a $28 million signing bonus and $12 million option bonus paid in March. Ryan earned $41.8 million, including endorsements over the last 12 months.

CAA is the top sports agency by far with 14 athletes, including the three it shares with Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports. They are split almost evenly across the NFL, MLB and NBA. Wasserman Media had six athletes make the cut led by its strong presence in basketball. Excel Sports Management also landed six players in the top 100.

Cristiano Ronaldo ranks second overall on earnings at $80, but he has the biggest social media presence of any athlete with 83 million Facebook fans and 26 million Twitter followers. There are 16 athletes who are not on either Facebook or Twitter (see “The Biggest Athletes On Social Media”).

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